Wave energy company CorPower has said it is joining Simply Blue Energy's Western Star floating wind and wave energy project off Ireland's west coast.
"CorPower is joining EIT Innoenergy to support project developer Simply Blue Energy, marking another significant step forward for the combined array concept which takes full advantage of wave and wind’s complementary power profiles," CorPower said Thursday.
Simply Blue Energy is developing the Western Star project off the west coast of Clare, which will consist of a floating wind farm situated at least 35km offshore, co-developed with a wave energy conversion array, using CorPower's wave energy converters approximately 4km from the coast.<
"The consistency of wave energy will ultimately provide a balancing effect, creating a more uniform combined power profile – ensuring greater supply at times of high demand and low production from wind. Western Star Wave ‘Project Saoirse’ will be located 4-6km offshore from County Clare, with planned deployment of the first two stages of 5 MW + 25 MW capacity," Sweden-based CorPower said.
CorPower's WEC is a surface point absorber-type wave energy converter. The technology, inspired by the pumping of the human heart, consists of floating surface buoys anchored to the seabed by a pre-tensioned system that rise, and fall with wave motion. The resulting mechanical energy is converted to electricity for export to shore through inter-array and export cables.